April 20, 2024 - Unfortunately, this was carrying a taint, and although drinkable, it is unfair to rate the wine. I suspected from the moment I tried to extract the cork which was dried out and almost impossible to remove. Both of my cases were purchased from the same source and stored identically, and this was the first time in a decade of drinking. The vagaries of drinking Bordeaux!
April 19, 2024 - Excellent, smooth, deep, enjoyable. Would do this every night.
April 2, 2024 - No formal notes. Double decanted 2 hours. Savory nose with red berry fruit still very evident. Nice weight with red berry lift on the palate. Enjoyable with the roast lamb.
March 29, 2024 - 4+ hours slow ox. This bottle had a lot more weight to it than my last. Like so many '03s, this wine is drinking "young". Almost no sediment. Far more black raspberry than blackberry fruits, plus a wonderful layer of overripe blueberry with touches of mocha and cassis to boot. A full mouthfeel that also had a velvety weightlessness to it. The very ripe to overripe fruits hid some of the graphite and other mineral and herb elements you sometimes get with this Chateau, but that did not hurt this wine's performance. Well done.
February 29, 2024 - Rich, in-depth black fruits! Grand in scale, delicious and full of spiciness, needs time!
February 11, 2024 - Popped and poured. This has always been one of the best 2003s. Black currant, cigar box, lead pencil, and herbs. Comes to life quite quickly with air. Full bodied and a bit hedonistic, it’s delicious now but lacks a bit of the focus and structure to age for a long time.
February 2, 2024 - Excellent drinking wine , classic Bordeaux. Happy to drink more any time.
December 19, 2023 - An interesting wine......picked up at a NJ wine shop about 18 months ago. Do not know how it was stored but it was in their refrigerated room when I picked it up. This was almost clear light red cherry fruit juice early on. Gained weight and the fruit darkened over 3 hours.
2 hour decant followed by a quadruple splash decant due to its not being ready for our event tonight. Tight, tannic, and black from that point on. It drank best at hours 3-6 of air. I'm still finishing a glass now at almost 8 hours of air. This comes across as black fruited and almost St. Estephe in nature rather than St. Julien black. Same rustic/rough taste profile/nose early on, as an '03 Cos but not the complexity or higher class that the Cos delivers in '03. I liked it but the barnyard present on opening continues even to hour 8....some like that, some don't. Don't get me wrong, this is very nice.....I love the graphite, I love the increased intensity of the fruit and the depth of it.....but, maybe a 94 would be tops for me? I might like to see what this one is like in 10 more years, but this was my only bottle.......
October 29, 2023 - 75 minute decant. Ruby colored. The wine was still tight an needed another hour before the fruit started to put on some weight. Surprising amount of red fruits for a Cab Sauv - Merlot blend. The fruit also tasted of a much cooler vintage with some green elements. Such a different experience that my first bottle of this wine 10 years ago. Not really sure what to make of its evolution. Nonetheless, very smooth. Will need to revisit in another year or two before fully judging this wine. An outside drinking window of 2026 seems premature based upon this bottle.
October 18, 2023 - This is very far from being ready!! Big, young and bold in fashion! The nose is a touch of feminine and slightly closed! Needs time!